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AMERICAN CENTURY CHAMPIONSHIPJuly 14, 2018Mark MulderTony RomoStateline, Nevada THE MODERATOR: We were saying before you got here Mark that obviously somebody tugged on Superman's cape today, because you played a great round. Eight birdies, ended up with 47 points. You're in the lead right now. Take us through this one today. MARK MULDER: I don't know. I've kind of blacked out in my last 21 holes. I mean, from 16 on through today, I played pretty well. I had three bogeys today those are kind of what make me a little angry. I 3-putted twice. Kind of uncalled for bogeys but for the most part, as poorly as I played yesterday, I knew it could only get better. So I couldn't hit it worse than I did for the first 15 holes yesterday. So I was kind of excited to get this day going and luckily made a few putts and got that ball in the hole. THE MODERATOR: Eight birdies, three bogeys, which -- par-5s? MARK MULDER: I had a couple of eagle putts and that kind of stuff. But to be honest, I was trying to hit greens. Because yesterday I didn't do that. I had four balls basically plug in bunkers yesterday, which I never should have been in to begin with. But today was just about hitting fairways, hitting greens, give yourself a chance, be patient and eventually you're going to roll them in. THE MODERATOR: Tony, grade round today. Came back. Very strong. Take us through your round as far as birdies, bogeys, memorable shots, and maybe some that are not so memorable. TONY ROMO: Yeah, I think today was just -- really I putted pretty well today. I missed a few early. But I think just kept the ball below the hole. Pretty much throughout the day. If you're hitting the irons the way I am now, I feel like you're just be patient throughout the round and you're going to have plenty of looks as the day goes on. And whether it's a 7-iron or pitching wedge, you feel you've got a shot at it being inside ten feet. That was the day today in a nutshell. By the end it came together. THE MODERATOR: Going up tomorrow obviously with Mark won this a few times, looking for your first victory here, been close on a number of occasions what else will it take besides tripping him? TONY ROMO: Well, he's a great champion. You don't get lucky and win as many times as he has. You've got to play just a really sound round of golf. I think the end of today gave me a big chance just to not let him get too far out in front. He's a tough guy to catch. But I think we'll have a fun battle tomorrow. It should be a good time. I think we both enjoy competition, so... Q. Mark, I noticed out there on the basketball, with the basketballs and the footballs, you were throwing left-handed. I think someone asked you this question a few years ago. You golf right-handed. You throw left-handed, how do you square that? MARK MULDER: I'm really messed up. I dribble better with my right I go right. I shoot lefty. Anything overhand is left-handed anything underhand is right-handed bowling, slow pitch softball, golf, anything underhand, I do it right-handed. TONY ROMO: You're right, you are messed up. (Laughter). MARK MULDER: Exactly. It's a little odd. But I don't know why I play golf right-handed maybe it's because my dad's clubs were right-handed that's all I had as a little kid. Maybe that's how it started. But like I said, just anything underhand that direction feels better right-handed. Q. Yesterday, was that some kind of rope-a-dope, golf rope-a-dope? MARK MULDER: I wish it was. For as cool as it was yesterday I never sweated so much on the golf course. I was so hot yesterday. And trying to slow things down, trying to collect my thoughts. Everything was just kind of racing. I didn't know what was happening. And then you kind of get to 16. And I hit two good shots and rolled in an eagle putt and everything changed from that point on. I don't really have an explanation for it. I just got a little more comfortable and was able to carry it in to today. Q. Just about every one of the press conferences we had yesterday everyone said, "Don't count Mark out." MARK MULDER: It's a good feeling that guys are thinking that. I know that's my mindset. I knew if I had a couple of strong holes at the end, I wouldn't shoot myself out of it. If anything shoot myself back into it. And today had a good day. Q. I'm sure Tony was one of those that made that statement yesterday? TONY ROMO: No question. Q. Mark, you finished with a personal best 31 points today. Does that -- well, obviously you're leading the pack -- but does that change your mindset going into day three? MARK MULDER: No, not at all. I think I've been behind and I've been leading when I've won the last few years. So I ignore it. I wasn't looking -- I was trying not to look at leaderboards all day today. I was trying to post as many points as I could. Get myself -- I want to get in the final group, that's really the goal, is getting in that final group. If you are, you have a chance to win on Sunday. And that's all I really wanted. Q. Just curious, I know you had the birdies today, what round did you you have the most birdies in? I'm curious if you had 10 birdies in a round, 11? MARK MULDER: Oh, man. Yeah, a couple weeks ago I had a round up in Flagstaff with Kyle Lohse, a good buddy of mine that used to play baseball. I threw birdies on him. It's also at 7,000 feet just like this, same type of elevation. So the course play is really short, similar the way this one does, but that's probably I think probably the most I've ever had. Q. Tony, when you go into tomorrow's round, do you feel like you have to look at a certain score before you even start the round or is it just one of those things where you've got to let the round play itself out again? TONY ROMO: No, you let the round play itself out. I think golf has a way of just, if you're playing really well and you've got talent, you're going to be around in the mix in this field. And I think obviously we know how good he is. And so you've got to play good. But if you come out play a good round of golf, golf isn't an easy sport. You've got to play well to win. And it can change quickly. Either way. For anyone. So we just gotta play good and see what happens. Q. Tony, you've had 27 points on three different occasions. Today was 26. Right there. You've got to be feeling pretty good about your game. We talked a little bit the other day about you winning back in Wisconsin by nine strokes in that amateur event. You've got to be pretty confident right now? TONY ROMO: I'm confident. I think yesterday was probably my worst round in the last two or three tournaments. So the fact that I hopefully got that out of the way is a good sign and we'll just keep playing good. And if someone -- if you shoot a 30 tomorrow to win you gotta try to do it. Just however it shapes out. We'll see how it plays. Q. As mentioned, Mark, you had 29 or 31 points today. Record here was 33 that a couple of guys share. I know you weren't thinking about that today, but when you go out there tomorrow, what do you think you need to -- what do you have to do tomorrow? MARK MULDER: It's the same mindset. Hit fairways, hit greens. Because here you can rack up a lot of points real quick. I had 12 -- I don't know -- I had 12 points in the last three holes yesterday. So it shows you how quickly something can change. If I'm in the final group with him. I can't just watch his game and try to beat him, because Mardy Fish might show up 35 tomorrow. I mean, that's the reality. So it's just trying to make as many birdies as you can or eagles. You get those chances. You want to take advantage of them. You can't just try to play the two guys that you're in the group with. You've just got to try to keep adding to your total and at the end see where it lies. Q. Mark, last year at this time you said your kids were your strongest motivators. Have they been ragging on you this year, too? MARK MULDER: Yeah, man, it's tough. I know how much they love it. They were out there on 17 dancing again today. And part of me wants to, guys, go, go, you gotta go away. But I love having them there. And as long as they're not a distraction to anybody that I'm playing with or anything like that, which I'm pretty sure most of the guys here don't really care. I want them to be around. I want them to be a part of this. They were never old enough -- we only had my one son when my career ended. So it's fun to have them be a part of this. I have them out there for all the pro-am days. It wears on me a little bit for the pro-am days because you're mentally trying to get a little prepared for the tournament. But I know how much it means to them. And I'd rather share this with them than anything else. Q. Mark, going into tomorrow, you're the one guy in the top five right now that's won this thing. Do you think that's going to affect the guys including Tony, including Pavelski, including Ray Allen and Trent Dilfer? They've all been there, they've all been close. Advantage Mulder or what? MARK MULDER: Yeah, but the first year I won it, it didn't really affect me. I know it's clichéish, but I'm trying to go out and put up a lot of points. And so are they T a lot of us at the top are very similar golfers, and it becomes a putting contest, who is going to make more putts, who is going to drain more of those, maybe ones you're not expecting to make. And the guy who is going to make those is probably going to be the one who wins. Q. Tony, you seem to be more confident. Looks like you feel more at ease out there, I don't know if it's the time off, football's done now and whatnot as far as playing. But you look more comfortable out there. Are you? TONY ROMO: It's probably because I'm just actually a better golfer, to be honest. I wish it was I'm more comfortable or mentally stronger or something. No, I've had more time. I've put more time in. Obviously, I'm enjoying it in this offseason and putting in a lot of time with hiring a swing coach and all that fun stuff. But it's paid off in the tournaments I'm starting to play in. From there, you kind of just execute and do what you normally do. I've played in enough tournaments now where it doesn't feel like you're not nervous stepping up on the first tee as much. It becomes normal. You putt, your rhythm, all those kind of similar things. But Mark said it, sometimes when you get around the top two, three guys, it's going to be who is going to putt well tomorrow. And that's kind of -- that's why he wins a lot. He's a really good putter. Q. I was going to ask you if those were your kids. I guess they were doing the floss. Can you do the floss for us? MARK MULDER: No. No. And you won't ever catch me trying it either. I avoid all of that. Trust me, they didn't get it from me. Q. You were plus nine after 14. You're minus nine since then. Do you still have a chance right now if it's not a Stableford? MARK MULDER: Well, I don't really know what anyone else shot or where they stand. TONY ROMO: But it is a Stableford. MARK MULDER: Yeah, exactly. TONY ROMO: You play it differently. Sometimes there's shots you wouldn't do if like I gotta avoid double bogey at all costs. MARK MULDER: Somebody said to me a few years ago 18 pars is 18 points. 9 birdies and nine bogeys is 27 points. That's still even par. TONY ROMO: It's a different game all together. MARK MULDER: So you're going for everything. There's no trying to lay up just to a certain number. I'm trying to hit a golf shot. I hit kind of a thin 3-wood on 18, and I had to skirt it right by that tree. But I only had 8-iron in you weren't about to see me hit a 54 degree wedge and a 60 in. That would be ridiculous. So you're trying to make as many points as you possibly can. Q. Tony, a little off topic here, but why is Kaepernick not in the NFL right now and do you think he'll ever play there again? TONY ROMO: I really don't want to go into everything right now. I feel like I've been thinking about golf. I'd have to switch my mindset. I don't have a great answer for you. To be honest with you, it's a situation where usually if a team thinks a guy can win a championship, they're going to bring him in, even if he's got a little bit of trouble in the background or someone's done something, you know? But Colin, he's a good person. I know he cares about his cause. And I think he'll probably get back in at some point. I just think it's going to take an injury or two. But as far as being a backup in the National Football League, you really don't want a lot of press for your back-up. So that's always a difficult thing when someone becomes, you know, in the paper a lot, I guess you could say. It just makes it difficult to bring them in unless they're your starter. It's okay if it's the starter because they're going to get talked about anyway. You want to minimize anything that takes away from your football team or takes away from talking about football. And so if there's something that comes up, GMs, that's the way they think sometimes. And is Colin Kaepernick good enough to play in the NFL absolutely. No question about that. Will he get back in? I think if someone gets hurt, he'll get an opportunity. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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